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SUNDAY

Dance schools eager to sign up little girls for flamenco lessons use lighthearted terms to describe the Spanish style, billing it as a fun activity: Your little darling can clap wooden castanets over her head, twirl her billowy skirt, and stomp her feet exuberantly. But for many flamenco aficionados, the dance is a more somber thing. “Flamenco is not a dance, it is a philosophy of the soul, exposing death, departure and loss,” Egypt’s Al-Ahram Weekly once wrote. Longtime choreographer and dancer Christina Hoyos would likely agree. The classical-flamenco icon leads the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía, a 20-plus troupe of dancers and musicians that will present her “Viaje al Sur/Journey to the South” as part of the 6th Annual DC Flamenco Festival. With movements titled “Happiness,” “Tragedy,” and “Passion,” and a poem about a departing train, expect intense melodrama about the human condition—but also a bit of joy. The performance starts at 7 p.m. (see City List for other dates) at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW. $30–$60. (202) 397-7328. (Steve Kiviat)